Follow BI

20 dead in South African school bus crash

A driver
and 19 school children were killed in South Africa when the
minibus they were travelling in collided with a truck and
exploded in a ball of fire in Mpumalanga province, emergency
services said on Friday.

The vehicle was ferrying children from school when it collided
with the truck between the towns of Verena and Bronkhorstpruit,
northeast of the capital Pretoria, Russel Meiring, ER24 spokesman
said.

Ad

Several children were injured, he said.

The dead children lay trapped inside the burnt out shell of the
vehicle that stood on its side, he said.

It was not clear what caused the collision, police said.

"The (minibus) was transporting learners from school and it
collided with the truck and caught fire," Mpumalanga police
spokesman Gerald Sedibe said. He said the minibus driver was
killed, while the truck driver survived.

Even though it is Africa's most industrialised economy with a
modern road network, South Africa has a dire road safety record.
Road deaths rose to 235 during this year's Easter weekend
compared with 156 fatalities last year, transport officials said
earlier on Friday.